Joining Jin Soon in L.A.

As an L.A.-based magazine, it’s rare we get to meet some of the big names in nails on the East Coast. So when celebrity manicurist Jin Soon Choi invited us to preview her spring collection and meet up with her at Space NK (inside Bloomingdales) we jumped at the chance. Choi described her time in L.A. as feeling like a “vacation” after the extreme New York winter, and our time with her felt like a relaxing getaway as well.

Choi’s Spring/Summer collection is full of vibrant colors Tila, Farouche, Enflamèe, Charme, and Doux. Her color story this season was brought about by her collaboration with French designer Tila March, who created bags in vibrant colors that go along with the polish palette. Choi was also inspired by Matisse and the artist’s use of vibrant color that is both modern and wearable for women at any age.

Taking a cue from the clear Tila March bags, Choi decided to use negative space to show off the colors from her current collection. She believes spring and summer are the perfect seasons for negative space nail art because the designs are fun and foolproof. Choi encourages indecisive clients to choose a single color from their outfit, “Go simple if you don’t know what to do.”

For Choi, nails are an accessory, so simplicity can always be dressed up by what nails are worn with or how they are styled in photos. Choi’s lookbook contained not only cool nail art concepts, but the polish mogul revealed that she also styled and propped the photos. She proved she had a unique eye by styling and taking two shots of assistant editor Sigourney Nuñez’s nails, one before her manicure with JINsoon polish, and one after.

Celebrity and editorial manicurist Kait Mosh decided to do a quick and easy half-moon mani using JINsoon Charme and Tila that are perfect for spring. See a video of her technique here: